An Artist For President

More than a quarter century ago, Susanna Dakin emerged from the sea having been "tested by the waters" for her candidacy as An Artist for President. A durational performance art piece, it took Dakin from the art studio to the bully pulpit as she set out to prove that "the nation is an artwork and we the people are the artists". Dakin traveled the nation meeting people from small towns to the nation's capitol. She was interviewed for television, radio, national and regional newspapers. Along the way, she discovered that there is a hunger in America for trustworthy candidates and new perspectives within our political institutions. This book is a personal reflection of Dakin's and campaign manager Lowell Darling's journey across the blurry boundaries between art and politics. It is a meditation on the possibility that citizens really want (whether we know it or not) to be allowed and encouraged to participate in the ongoing creation of our nation.